While we are increasingly optimistic about the direction of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are aware that medical students continue to face unprecedented disruption to their medical training. We are committed to ensuring that medical students have the best possible opportunity to learn about the many wonderful programs across the country and determine which will be the best fit for the next steps in their careers. We will again be conducting a virtual recruitment season for 2021-2022. We continue to monitor national and local guidelines closely. Later this year we will revisit whether we can provide a second look at in-person visits for applicants who would find this helpful.
We will not be hosting “Virtual Open House” events prior to the interview season. We are mindful that medical students have many competing demands for their time, and do not want applicants to feel obliged to schedule additional events. We have, however, made every effort to keep our website up to date and hope that you can get a sense of what makes our program unique. Members of our residency program leadership team will also participate in regional recruitment webinars. If you have specific questions about our program, please do not hesitate to reach out to us!
In reaching this decision, our guiding principles have been:
- Safety: We are committed to keeping our patients, applicants, current residents and staff safe. We want to minimize travel for applicants during these uncertain times.
- Equity: We are committed to ensuring that all applicants have the same opportunities to learn about our program and interact with faculty, regardless of specific local travel restrictions that may be in place. We will thus only be conducting virtual interviews, including for local students.
- Diversity: Our diversity is a strength. We remain deeply committed to recruiting a diverse group of talented residents. We recognize that a virtual interview season and the limitations on visiting student electives may have a disproportionate impact on students from backgrounds underrepresented in medicine (UIM). We will work to provide additional opportunities to ensure we continue to recruit a diverse residency class.
- Holistic Review: We are aware that many medical students will have disruptions to their clinical rotations and scheduled examinations. We will complete holistic reviews of all applications submitted through ERAS, even those applications missing scores/grades that would normally be required.
- Collaboration: We are committed to working collaboratively with the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD), Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs (AMSPDC), The Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) and other leaders in pediatric medical education. We will endeavor to follow best practice guidelines from these national organizations for the upcoming interview season.
We will be updating this website with further information about our program, and the virtual interview process over the next few months. If you have specific concerns or questions please do not hesitate to email us.
We are looking forward to meeting many of you virtually over the next year!
Sincerely,
Aisha Barber, M.D., MEd
Director, Pediatric Residency Program